- 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓕𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 -

Chapter 18: Let It Be

Paul's mother came to him in a dream later that night. Her silhouette was standing by the doorway. The room was dark, so Paul couldn't make out her features very well, but he knew it was her, and he could feel the pity and the gentleness in her voice when she called out his name. "Paul?"

He stood up from his bed, squinting his eyes at the familiar silhouette. "Mum?"

"Paulie, dear, are you in there?" His mother took a step forward.

"Yes, Mum," he replied. "Yes, I'm right here."

The woman tilted her head. "Paulie," she said. "Paulie, I can't see you, it's pitch dark in here."

Paul's mouth hung open in a panic, and he stretched his arm sideways and patted his hand against the wall, trying to look for a light switch. "E-Er, don't worry, I'll try to turn on the lights," he stammered.

And as he did so, his mother continued to speak. "I heard you've been having troubles with your family. Is that true?"

"Erm, yeah, sure," he replied absentmindedly. 

"Why, what's wrong?" his mother asked. 

He didn't reply, and instead, continued patting his hands around on the wall.

"Paul, stop."

The patting came to an abrupt halt.

"What's wrong?"

Paul slowly turned around to face her. He pursed his lips and looked down at his bare feet before croaking, "John."

"John," his mother echoed softly. "...Has he...been cheating on you?"

Paul nodded. His mother could only stare at him sadly. Though they couldn't see each other well in the dark, they could sense just what kind of feelings hung in the air, what unspoken thoughts lingered in the atmosphere. After a moment of silence, his mother finally gave him a word of advice.

"Let it be," she said, enunciating every syllable carefully. "Everything is going to be okay, don't worry. Just let it be."

Before Paul could say anything, she suddenly vanished from view, and the dream ended with the sound of an alarm clock ringing. 

- - -

John came back home after two days. It was four in the afternoon, Paul was baking a pie in the kitchen, George and Ringo were in the living room watching Gilligan's Island, the birds were singing on the windowsills, the sun was shining in through the kitchen windows, everything was all fine and dandy when John suddenly swung open the front door and came marching in like he hadn't left the house at all. At the sound of heavy footsteps striding confidently across the oak floor, Ringo whirled around and leapt up to greet his father with an exuberant "Daddy, you're home!"

"Took a bit longer than I expected," George muttered, chewing on a piece of gum. 

Thanks to all the commotion caused by Ringo, Paul stepped out of the kitchen to see who had just arrived, and upon catching sight of the mischievous John Lennon standing by their living room couch, he narrowed his eyes and whisked his dough a little faster. 

"Oh, John," he said casually. "You're back."

"Hey, Macca." John waved at him. "What wonders are you cooking up in that kitchen now?"

"Shepherd's Pie," Paul replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. 

"Mm, that sounds delicious," John murmured, creeping closer to him. "Can I have a taste when it's ready?"